Lebanon prime minister Hassan Diab resigns after furious protests in wake of Beirut explosion
Video report by ITV News correspondent Emma Murphy
Lebanese prime minister Hassan Diab has said he is stepping down following protests in the wake of the explosion at a port in Beirut last week.
Less than seven days after the blast - which has killed at least 160 people and wounded about 6,000 - the prime minister said in a televised statement he is resigning.
It follows furious protests in recent days from the Lebanese people.
In a brief televised speech after three of his ministers resigned, Mr Diab said he was taking “a step back” so he could stand with the people “and fight the battle for change alongside them”.
Exclusive: 'People have a right to be furious,' says Lebanon prime minister Hassan Diab
Lebanon's government resigns after massive Beirut explosion kills 160 people
Thousands have protested in Beirut in the days since the explosion, furious that a 2,750-ton stockpile of explosive ammonium nitrate - believed to be the cause - was left seemingly neglected in storage at the port.
The PM's resignation follows the entirety of Lebanon’s government stepping down over the incident.
In an ITV News exclusive earlier this week, the Lebanese PM revealed he's not "afraid" of people's anger in the country.
ITV News Correspondent Emma Murphy has more:
Mr Diab said Lebanese residents had a "right" to be furious after "decades of unbelievable corruption".
He said: “They (political class) should have been ashamed of themselves because their corruption is what has led to this disaster that had been hidden for seven years,” he added.
“I have discovered that corruption is bigger than the state and that the state is paralysed by this (ruling) clique and cannot confront if or get rid of it,”
The politician was a professor at the American University of Beirut before he took over from Saad Hariri, who resigned in October, after months of anti-government demonstrations.
The massive blast on August 4 decimated Beirut port and devastated large parts of the city.
It has brought a new wave of public outrage at the government and Lebanon’s long entrenched ruling class.
The explosive ammonium nitrate had been stored at the port since 2013 with few safeguards despite numerous warnings of the danger.
Losses from the blast are estimated to be between £7.6bn to £11.5bn, and nearly 300,000 people were left homeless in the immediate aftermath.
On Sunday, world leaders and international organisations pledged nearly $300 million (£229m) in emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut in the wake of the explosion.
The group warned that no money for rebuilding the capital would be made available until Lebanese authorities commit themselves to the political and economic reforms demanded by the people.